Bear School Astartes

Chapter 38: 38. Blacksmith Apprentice

Lann stroked his chin and nodded.

He wasn’t familiar with high-end blacksmith shops like this, but just listening to the entire process, he couldn’t sense any issues.

The Dwarf in front of him emphasized his identity as a ”chief apprentice” when he mentioned it, suggesting he was proud of this status.

This at least indirectly indicated that this Master Tuer Butcher was indeed a capable blacksmith.

So, Lann straightforwardly placed his set of school armor on the counter.

With a clang, the entire wooden counter trembled twice.

Fergus crossed his arms and nodded with confidence.

”Oh, you’re looking for repair services. I can handle this kind of work myself. No need to bother the master...”

But before he could finish, the blonde woman with braids behind him interrupted him.

”Don’t brag, Fergus. Open your eyes and take a good look, this is a Demon Hunter’s armor!”

Her words carried the excitement of seeing a rare treasure, catching Lann’s attention.

For a long time, this was the first time someone had recognized it as a Demon Hunter’s school armor.

”An expert, huh.”

The young man’s cat-like eyes darted between the two.

Both were wearing aprons, but the difference was that Fergus wore the leather apron commonly used by blacksmiths, easily blocking the hot sparks from forging.

But the human woman named Yuna only wore a cloth apron, which seemed to be for sweeping in the shop.

The aprons clearly distinguished their roles, apprentice and menial worker.

However...

”A menial worker scolding an apprentice on professional matters? Interesting...”

The hierarchy among technicians usually depended only on the skills themselves.

A human female menial worker with better skills than a Dwarf male apprentice?

Could it be so magical?

Under Lann’s subtle expression, the ”female menial worker” skillfully laid out all the components of the armor neatly on the counter.

”Puncture marks on the abdomen... speared with a long lance? That’s quite deep. Look at these chain links, I bet the material isn’t ordinary steel!”

Like caressing a treasure, Yuna’s face almost pressed against the armor.

Lann crossed his arms and allowed her to observe, even revealing some information about the armor.

”Demon Hunter armor includes monster tissue, which indeed causes performance differences from ordinary steel.”

”No wonder! Adding monster tissue to steel is an art mastered only by a master. You’ve really come to the right place.”

Yuna lifted her head from the armor and smiled apologetically at Lann.

Then she turned and said to Fergus: ”Go call the master down, this job is beyond us.”

The Dwarf shot Yuna an annoyed look and, after she pointed to the scattered cards on the floor, headed upstairs, shoulders hunched.

In no time, Fergus returned downstairs, followed by a bald male Dwarf.

His robust physique looked like a short iron block overall.

His beard was thick, neat, but already graying.

He was much older than Fergus, probably over a hundred thirty years.

He headed straight for the counter as soon as he came down, looking satisfied with the neatly arrayed armor components.

”Well done, Fergus. It seems you’ve noted my lessons on categorizing armor components. Much smarter than those Dwarves in the Mahakan Mine who only know how to toil.”

Amidst Fergus’s continuous flattery of ”You’re a wonderful teacher,” the Old Dwarf turned his gaze to his customer.

”This armor is good, just needs better maintenance. Two hundred and twenty Oren, I’ll repair and adjust it to fit better, plus a maintenance session thrown in. How’s that?”

A master is truly a master; even with the chainmail in the armor not perfectly displayed, he immediately noticed it was one size larger than Lann’s build.

And Lann had no issue with the price; he wouldn’t mind if it were three hundred Oren instead of two hundred and twenty.

The higher the asking price, the happier he was.

—After all, he had the ”voucher.”

”I fully agree with your price; your craftsmanship is certainly worth it. But before that...” Lann brought out a parchment strip from his chest with a smile and placed it on the counter under the Old Dwarf’s rather self-satisfied expression.

”Take a look at this first.”

The Old Dwarf’s expression gradually shifted from pride to a neutral demeanor.

”Damn you, Viserad...” the Old Dwarf muttered, then suddenly stopped, suspiciously eyeing the young man’s cat eyes. ”You’re not here to snitch, are you?”

Lann shook his head and raised his hands to gesture harmlessness.

”Master, venting in private is certainly the prerogative of a shop given a free voucher.”

”Good, I’m starting to like you, lad. Phew—damn you, Viserad! Making me give favors again! Again! Last time I worked a whole day and didn’t earn a penny! Just covered the costs! And here we go again, this time too!”

The Dwarf raised his voice, a roar of anger.

Yuna and Fergus were probably used to it, but Lann found himself covering his ears.

”So, shall we... not do it?” Fergus stretched his head, tentatively asking his teacher.

The Old Dwarf’s fury seemed to vanish in an instant. He turned to his apprentice, looking at him as if seeing a naive donkey.

”My whole life is this shop, and this shop is in Gos Velen, which is in Velen. The Lord of Velen was knighted as Sir Viserad by Veltrest, Fergus... Can your brain not go in circles? Don’t ever say something stupid again!”

After scolding the apprentice, Master Tuer Butcher turned back to Lann.

”Apologies for the spectacle.” The Old Dwarf’s tone wasn’t as warm as when discussing price, but neither was it as irritable as when receiving the voucher. ”You can come to pick up the armor at this time tomorrow. No, there’s no need to measure your height. My eyes are like a ruler; if there’s a mistake, I’ll fix it for free.”

The young man agreed readily, turned around, and left.

As he exited the blacksmith shop and untied Bopai outside the door, his keen hearing picked up sounds inside the shop.

The door creaked, likely with Tuer Butcher carrying the armor to the workspace.

Yuna and Fergus were whispering to each other.

”Could you be more careful? That Demon Hunter almost figured us out! I pass on the master’s knowledge, and you help me maintain my apprentice position, that was our agreement!”

”That Demon Hunter doesn’t even know us. Why would he tell the master our secret? Besides, when that Demon Hunter armor is laid before me, I just couldn’t control myself.”

”But you couldn’t just blurt it out, right? Do I need to repeat Master Butcher’s words? ’I will never take humans as apprentices, not out of racial prejudice, but I know as soon as they are as skilled in forging as we are, they will eliminate us all, just like the Vulan Race and Wave Monster.’ I know you’re not a bad person and wouldn’t harm us Dwarves, Yuna. But besides me helping you learn forging knowledge, there won’t be any other Dwarf who would do so!”

”...Alright, Fergus. I’ll be more careful in the future.”

”Aha, then it’s all good. Come on, help me forge some things for the master. A longsword, two pairs of iron gloves...”

”It’s not all good, Fergus.”

”What?”

”Earth Elemental, you still owe me an Earth Elemental card!”

Lann stood outside, thoughtful, then chuckled lightly and walked away with his horse.